Piezoelectric Transducer Based 3D Intraoral Scanner

There are not so many 3D profile tools specially designed for specifically narrow space, for example, to scan the tooth shape of a human jaw. In this paper, a real-time 3D intraoral scanner based on piezoelectric transducer is presented for the measurement of tooth profile in the mouth cavity. The proposed system comprises a laser diode beam, a micro charge-coupled device, a graticule, a piezoelectric transducer, a set of optical lenses, and a Polhemus device sensor. The phase-shifting technique is used along with an accurate calibration method for the measurement of the tooth profile. Experimental and theoretical inspection of the phase-to-height relation is described. Simulation and optical measurement results are presented to verify the feasibility and performance of the developed system.